


Holiday Spirits

by unnecessarybeltbuckles



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: A little sappy, Christmas fic, Fluff, M/M, Suggestive Conversations, author hasn't published anything in forever, old timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 04:28:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17216996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unnecessarybeltbuckles/pseuds/unnecessarybeltbuckles
Summary: Due to a SF mission, Ermac nearly misses out on his first Earthrealm Christmas. Kenshi tries to make up for it. Christmas oneshot fluff.





	Holiday Spirits

“Still can’t believe we got caught with Christmas duty. They couldn’t just wait two weeks? Or schedule things earlier? Bullshit, man.”

Ermac could barely hear Johnny over the roar of the reascending helicopter, but he gave a strong nod as he settled his feet and fiddled with with his jacket zipper. He was inclined to agree that the situation was unfavorable and irritating. Ermac had just missed the commotion of the holidays when he’d come to Earthrealm with Kenshi, and with the oncoming conclusion of the year, the winter season, and Christmas in particular, had been hyped to the heavens by the other SF members. Kenshi showed indifference to the coming festivities and “Christmas spirit,” but among the music and sweet foods and blinking lights, Ermac had admittedly found himself dazzled. He was fascinated by the myriad of traditions and legends the Americans would talk on and on about and couldn’t help but look forward to the holidays; he even inspired a bit of cheerful anticipation in Kenshi.

But then he and Johnny had pulled the short straws among whole of the force. They were sent out on a menial, tiresome retrieval mission that would cut through the end of November right to the night of Christmas Eve— _late_ night Christmas Eve, with the rendezvous team running behind. Everyone had been miffed but there was little arguing to be had. At least he’d be home for the coveted Christmas day, but he certainly felt that he missed out now as he watched the colorful lights twinkle in the trees, which would be taken down by the end of the week. 

He followed Johnny from the landing pad to meet the small gathering of authorities they were reporting to. Johnny greeted them a flashy grin and spread arms.

“Ah, just how I wanted to spend my Christmas Eve; describing every painful detail of an uneventful, month-long nature walk in military terms. How did you know?”

The General offered a thin smile under her steaming breath.  
“Well that’s a shame, Cage; we’re letting you off the hook. We know nothing exciting happened, we’ll get the reports done after the holidays. Go on home.”

“Really? Huh. It’s a fuckin’ Christmas miracle.” Johnny snrked and elbowed his companion. Ermac stepped forward and bowed lightly.

“We thank you.”

“Enjoy yourselves,” the General dipped her head in return and strode off with the group, while Johnny muttered something about “suck up.” Ermac’s gaze wandered back to the lights, discerning glittering gold stars and the red man… _Santa,_ with his magic flying deer, among the decorations, glimmering tranquilly against a thin layer of snow. Again his heart panged with a touch of bitterness for his absence.

A clapped hand on his shoulder startled him out of it.  
“Looks like my schedule just cleared up for the next five hours. Wanna hit the bar?”

He and Johnny’s shared trek in the lower Himalayan plains had honestly not been as tiresome or vexing as Ermac anticipated, but Ermac had had his fill of Johnny Cage for a… time. He realized then that he had gained a few free hours as well, and his regret was burned away with renewed excitement. He shook his head.

“We apologize, but we had planned to return to the barracks for the night.”

Alarmingly, Johnny’s smile twisted into something sly.  
“Ah, right, I forgot. You’ll want to spend Christmas with Kenshi.”

“Indeed.”

“Your not-boyfriend.”

“Our not-boyfriend.”

Ermac had long given up the exhausting task of determining whether or not Johnny was joking. Kenshi seemed to staunchly ignore the fact that Johnny was one moment of sincerity away from recognizing he and Kenshi’s romance, and quite possibly had already achieved such a moment, and Ermac followed uneasily in his stead.

Johnny gave another cordial pat on his shoulder then parted in the opposite direction.  
“Welp, then, seeya ‘Mac. I’ll catch up later. Don’t you two rock the Christmas tree too hard!”

Ermac forced himself to dismiss the twitching uncertainty that Johnny’s unfamiliar references left him, instead taking quick steps towards the residential area of the base. Kenshi would be asleep by now, unless he’d decided to go out in which only the gods knew when he’d be home, but Ermac was simply happy to be in a familiar environment after nearly a month of hiking through wilderness. The sooner he could get into Kenshi’s arms, asleep or drunk, the better.

He crossed about half the distance just passing the outskirts before his nerves won out. It was practically a ghostown, the buildings dark and most of the snow in the pathways left untouched. He halted his steps, took in a shudderingly cold breath, and closed his eyes to concentrate, rivering his energy through space and teasing it apart… His being tremored and suddenly he was looking up at Barrack 3 in a whirl of green.

For a long moment he took in the tall, bleak concrete walls of the barrack with all of its windows black and motionless; suddenly a soft snicker from the porch stirred him. His eyes flickered, he stiffened, then he nearly slipped as he darted up the stairs and into Kenshi’s embrace.

His heart burst with happy, happy warmth as he burrowed into Kenshi’s chest and he was hugged tight in his lover’s arms, their thrumming energies colliding and interweaving in elated greeting. Kenshi smiled and sighed happily with his hands curling through his hair, nuzzling into his neck.

“It is late in the night, what are you doing out here?” Ermac pulled back to regard him. Kenshi’s grin settled to a smirk as he shrugged.

“I’m waiting for Santa Claus. What else?”

Ermac scoffed bringing his hands to his face— chilled, barely restraining his teeth from chattering. He let his energy expulse with a bit more radiance to lend them both heat.

“If we recall correctly, Johnny had said the children must be sleep _before_ Santa arrives.”

“Damn, guess I’m on the naughty list now.”  
Kenshi leaned forward and gently brought their heads together, clasping Ermac’s hands to bring them to their chests. The gesture always made Ermac’s aura shiver, feeling Kenshi’s spiritual being in its most concentrated and intimate place braced to his own, while their hearts beat between them. Despite the buzz, it caused serenity and contentedness to flood over him. 

“Good thing my present’s already been delivered,” Kenshi hummed. For a moment the world was utterly still and silent but for the steaming breath rushing between them. Blood loud in his ears, Ermac felt his spirits soaring. All the longing and disgruntlement of the past month melted to appreciation and satisfaction for the _here_ and _now;_ and Ermac was one impulse away from consummating those feelings when Kenshi pulled away and left him cold.

“You’re warm; but I’m freezing my ass off out here. Shall we go inside?”

_They were out in the open._ Ermac smothered his disappointment with a shake and a curt nod to lead the way in, stripping off his coat and giving the front desk a wave of acknowledgement as the pair pushed on as quickly as possible. Like the town, the hall was ghostily quiet and dim. It may have been depressingly stifling, even more so than Ermac tended to find it, had the space not been littered with eye-catching decorations. Intricate paper crafts hung from the ceiling, glittering spheres adorned an imitation of a prickly tree, on one table sat a miniaturized version of village made of sweets, of all things. He couldn’t help but smile at the Earthrealmers’ dedication to their celebration and traditions.

Not another soul in sight, Kenshi dared to come close and squeeze a hand on his arm as they made for the stairwell.

“I’m sorry that you missed it,” he grimaced in sympathy. “I know you were excited for it. And by the look of things, we won’t even be on Earthrealm next Christmas.”

Ermac shrugged, leaning into Kenshi’s hold.  
“We have not missed it completely, we can enjoy it as it is now; and we are immeasurably happy to simply be home, with you. We had assumed you would be asleep or in-town.”

Kenshi tsked as he held open the stairwell door.  
“Of course I stayed up. I _missed you,_ you know. I figured the feeling is mutual.”

“Very. We appreciate it immensely.”

That just earned him another light scoff. Ermac frowned, but relievingly Kenshi changed the tone.

“Is Johnny alive and in one piece?” 

“Yes. It was not a risky venture, by any means.”

“I was mostly worried that you’d get fed up and decide to silence him. Permanently.”

“He was admittedly more tolerable than we had presumed. Although… we had considered the option. Several times. A day.”

“You’re a saint,” Kenshi laughed as they stepped onto the third floor and headed towards his room. Fourth room down the hall, Kenshi fished out his keys and swiftly unlocked the door— but before he could turn the handle, Ermac was distracted by something taped to the top of the doorway.

“What is that?”

“Hm?” Kenshi looked up in the vague direction Ermac was pointing.

“...Something that doesn’t produce a energy force. You’ll have to be more specific.”

“It is…a sprig? Above the doorway?”

Kenshi stiffened rather sharply.

“ _Oh…_ that’s probably mistletoe.”

“We have not heard of it.”

“A winter tradition… Who— it couldn’t have been Johnny, unless he planned a month ahead, or… Do any of the other doors have it?”  
Ermac’s eyes narrowed in curiosity, seeing a characteristic subtle blush creep up Kenshi’s face while he nervously teethed his lips. Quite a reaction. 

“It does not appear so. What is its meaning?”

“Well.” Kenshi tilted his head slightly for a moment, assuring that they were alone. He continued in a bashfully low tone.  
“It’s a holiday tradition to kiss under the mistletoe.”

“...Truly?”

Ermac expected a playful smirk of sarcasm, but Kenshi’s mouth only thinned further.  
“Yeah. I don’t know who…”

Ermac huffed and moved to hold Kenshi’s heated face, feeling his heightened pulse under his hands. They were alone. This was probably a harmless joke. He knew that Kenshi’s fears were founded, but he also knew Kenshi worried too much. He wasn’t going to let it ruin the opportunity that so blatantly presented itself.

“We think we’d like to partake in this tradition.”

Kenshi’s demeanor lifted instantly to attention.  
“Oh?”

“We find it particularly appealing,” Ermac took a step and closed the distance between them, his own heart flushing as he prayed Kenshi would take the hint and be receptive.  
Kenshi inhaled and tilted his head again, fully aware that the building was practically abandoned and no one would be stumbling upon them. Finally, he gave in with a flourishing smile and braced himself against the door to lean in close.

“Well, it _is_ Christmas…”

“Wait.” Ermac slipped his hand up and cast off his blindfold, revealing those stunning eyes that were kept away from all but Ermac. Kenshi’s smile broadened with a raised brow. 

“Undressing me already?”

“No, but we have not seen you in a _month._ ”

“Yeah well, I’ve _never_ seen you, so—”  
Ermac shut him up with a fervent lurch forward and overtook his lips with all the passion of month-long pining. A rush of breath escaped Kenshi as his eyes fluttered, then closed with soft gasps, relinquishing to Ermac’s fervor for a few spare moments. Ermac felt the tension melt away and emotions burn to the surface with release, saying more than any ‘I missed you’ ever could. With eager hands he pressed on, but Kenshi gently subdued him. 

“It’s _kiss,_ not ‘makeout’ under the mistletoe,” Kenshi teased, a little breathless. Ermac just hummed, stroking at the edge of Kenshi’s jaw with fondness and a touch of impatience.

“We hope for adequate compensation for what we have missed.”

Kenshi huffed and opened the door, slipping inside and pulling Ermac along.  
“Of course. How about you come in and I’ll let you unwrap the rest of your present?”

“There’s more? You are so giving, Kenshi.”

“That was just a teaser. I always save the best gifts for last.”

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyyy I finally did... something.  
> I didn't super edit this since it's supposed a short and fun thing for the holidays, sorry for any mistakes or awkward pacing.  
> This is supposed to read as old timeline Ermac and Kenshi but you could supplement new ken and mac if you.. really wanted to  
> Check me out @ unnecessarybeltbuckles on tumblr or @ unnecessarybelt on twitter to watch me yell into the void


End file.
